Garage creeper



April 5 1932. B. M. STANNARD 1,853,007

GARAGE CREEPER Filed June 5, 1929 INVENTOR Err-ace 777.651": a

Hi6 ATITORNEY i UNITED.- STATES? PAi-TENTQFFIC.

Patented Apr; 5; 1932 i ret cent! sreiwean, or Bnrermmom NEW' YonK, nssreivon TO THE seawee- I TITCHENER coeroeerromor oonrrennnnw YORK, aconrona'rron or NEW YORK.

Application filed June 5,

Thisinvention relates to portable creeper or truck-like vehicle means that is more particularly intendedfor use in connectionwith servicing automobiles or other motordriven vehicles in which a service manis likely'to be called upon to crawl underneath the chassis for inspection or repair purposes. Tothis end',-.my all-metal. creeper. comprises a relativelylflat. and wellbraced latticed frame structure affording separately raised corner- I acter that shall prove amply strong and durable when subjected" to hard garage usage. Said improvements further consist in novel structural features and in the assembled re, lation of the component parts thereof, all of which'will hereinafter beset forth in detail; Reference is had to the accompanying one sheet of drawings that are illustrative :of a specific embodiment of myqinvention, in which like characters .of' reference indicate like parts, and in which: g

Ffgt 1 is a top view or plan of my creeper assembly embodying. my 5' improvements except that the web -like cover plate is shown dotted to better disclose the underlying frame structure, while Fig. 2 represents an elevatilonalside view thereof including said cover pate..'..,. Fig. 3 shows a sectionaliview as taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and indicates the preferred manner of interlockingv the seamsof aplurality of cover strips as disposed lengthwise of the creeper; Fig. i is an enlargement ofv one such seam oint.

Figs.,5 and '6 respectively detail top and end views of a corner bracket member that is used in my creeper assembly. 1

Referring first to Figs. land 2,my creeper frame is usually given a rectangular plan shape and preferably comprises aypair of spaced metal side bars of angle profile such as 1, Which, are shown medially depressed for a portion of their respective span lengths and each made-to terminate in raised offsets or end extensions, such. as 2. The complemen- GARAGE CEEEPER 1929; Serial No. 368,557.

tary opposite pairs of extensions are respectively interconnected by separate cross angle bars also of the medially depressed or underslung type such as3 and each corner, region of the abutting frame members may be secured together by meansof a sheet metal corner reenforcing bracket; As disclosed in Fig.5, said bracket comprises aseated top plate 4 having complementary depending flanges 5 and g 6 disposed in right angular relation adapted to have adjacent mitered frame ends adjoined thereto by rivets, spot welding or the like to constitute a unitary hollow frame work having eaclrof the corner regions individually raised above the level of thebody platform. 9

Said top plate 4 is further perforated at 10 and also provided with an obliquely struckupbracket lip 7 of which the respective ends are intended to cooperatively thrust against the innermost edges of adjacent bars in order to center and otherwise facilitate assembly of said frame members. One leg of the interconnected angle sha ed frame bars is pref erably disposed to face against the corner plates 4 as shown in Fig. 1 while the other leg is set in an outwardly depending relation thereto as indicated in Fig; 2. I

. Said longitudinally, disposed side bars are preferably cross-braced by one or more transverse struts such as 8 which may be set edgewise with the ends thereof turned over to form attaching flanges, respectively secured.

to a depending angle leg of the oppositely disposed side bars. As an additional support, there are provided brace straps 9 which are shown obliquely disposed fromcorner to corner of said frame with the respective strap ends extended underneath the inturned bar legs asshown by dotted outline in Fig.v l. The respective strapeends may be secured to the bracket platesbut are preferably bolted; to the aperture 10 thereof. If desired, either the struts or said straps may also be given a channel or angular profile, and then tied together at theirv crossing points to provide for an amply stiffened underslung structure. Overlying the described lattice work and comprised within the confines of the inturned frame members, is a body contacting web plate or mat 11. This may either be fashioned in unitary or sectional sheet formation with the marginal edges thereof tucked underneath the oppositely disposed side and cross bars to give said mat a neat trim. The plate margins are preferably attached to said circumscribing bars and may be further adjoined to the center region of the described understructure by rivets or spot welding means.

Said mat 11 may also be fabricated from perforated plate such as nail-head scrap which usually comes in strips that are relatively narrow as compared to the length of the cross bars 3. In such event, it is preferred to resort to an interlocking seam for the contiguous strip edges in the manner indicated in Fig. 3. In the present instance, the use of three such parallel strips are shown applied longitudinally of mv frame; the abutting seam edges, are each inturned to interlock as detailed at 12 in Fig. at and this joint is kept in flush alignment with the uppermost web face.

Each of the aforesaid bracket apertures 10 are further utilized to mount therethrough the threaded shank of a swivel castor, preferably of the ball bearing type designated as 13; the uppermost extremity of each such shank may be provided with a nut 14 which at the same time serves to secure in place the previously described brace straps 9 which as stated are intended to interlock with. the inr H turned bar legs.

As a further refinement, the completed creeper may be provided with an adjustable dded head rest or cushion 15. As will be understood, the common procedure inv operating with my device, is for the user tolie flat on his back and in such position creepingly roll himself underneath the chassis to perform work thereon. My offset side and cross bars permit of using a relatively large roller without correspondingly raising the plane of the underslung body mat or platform; the side bar span is thereby kept in close adjacency with the floor level to limit extreme flexure in case a heavy truck load. or the like should accidentally be run thereover, as occasionally does happen in garage work. The transversestruts also serve to prevent the side bars from being drawn inwardly under extremely heavy loading.

It will be observed that my heavy duty creeper is capable of withstanding rough usage; also. that the lattice work reenforcement supporting and vertically bracing the web late, is designed to obviate any undue localized flexing of the mat under body load and to prevent permanent sagging thereof under normal. operating. conditions. The overall height of my device is kept at a minimum in order to properly serve modern low slung cars and'still allow of'getting thereunder without need of jacking up its chassis to any considerable extent; in addition, sub stantially made castors are securely attached to the individually raised frame corners, thus imparting long life to this rollable garage accessory.

It is to be understood that the described creeper also finds application to other than automotive repair purposes, and that various changes in structural details may be resorted to in likewise carrying out my illustrative creeper embodiment, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Claims:

1. Acreeper frame comprising a pair of spaced underslung side-bars terminatin in raised ofi'set extensions and having cross has bridging the corresponding bar extensions, a reenforcing bracket for each corner region of said frame and which bracket. comprises a flanged top plate seated upon and in overlapping relation to, adjoining bars, a strut disposed transversely of said side bars and intermediate the cross bars, a brace strap extending between and secured to opposite corner brackets, castor means associated with the frame corner regions, and a web plate supported upon thetop of said frame.

2. A creeper frame comprising a pair of spaced underslung side-bars each terminating in offset raised extensions and which corresponding bar extensions are. respectively bridged by a cross-barthat is likewise underslung, a reenforcing bracket for each raised corner region of said frame, each such bracket being provided with a seated top plate having complementary depending flanges respectively adapted to outwardly embrace abutting end portions of said side and cross bars and which bracket is further provided with downturned lip means serving to spread apart said abutting bar portions against the aforesaid flanges, and means clamping each such bracket to its respective frame corner region.

3. A creeper frame comprising a pairof spaced angle shaped side-bars each having one leg thereof inturned and the respective corresponding end portions of which bars are each transversely bridged in abutting relation by an angle shaped cross-bar having one of its legs similarly inturned, a reenforcing bracket for each corner region of said frame including an apertured top plate and flanges seated tooverlappingly embrace adjoining bar ends, strap means associated with one of said brackets of which strap-one end portion is adapted to underlie an inturned bar leg, a web plate, and castor means provided with a shank adapted to extend through the plate aperture of'the last named bracket and the adjacent strap end cooperating therewith.

4. A portable creeper comprising a pair of spaced-side-bars each terminating in ofiset end extensions that are respectively bridged,

by cross bars to constitute a frame work having ralsed corner reglons, an apertured reenforcing bracket seated upon each such of said frame, each such castor being pro-.

vided with a shank extending upwardly through the aperture of its adjacent bracket and serving to clamp an adjoining bar leg I thereto.

In testimony whereof, I have herewith set my hand this 4th day of June, 1929.

BRUCE M. STANNARD. 

